15 comments:

I watched I Declare War recently, and enjoyed it a ton. Really reminiscent of being young and not really caring about anything other than having fun. In the same sort of style, but on a more serious note, is the film Funeral Kings. Have any of you seen it? I thought the actors were fantastic in that. It sort of felt like Stand By Me for the new generation of kids, but instead of going with your friends on a hike, it deals with having to go to parties and trying to be cool. Great soundtrack too.

I recently saw the director's cut of Wolfgang Peterson's film Das Boot. It's a really good film, but what I wanted to comment on was a similarity between this film and another "other side of the hill" film called Cross of Iron, directed by Sam Peckinpah. Both films feature a lead (Jurgen Prochnow and James Coburn, respectively) who is war-weary, contemptuous of the Nazis, but also a superb leader who acts as a surrogate father to his men. Both films also have the "token Nazi" who is supposed to represent the more radical and evil side of the German war effort (and in both films are mocked by the rank-and-file sailors/soldiers). I find this interesting, because while I really like both of these movies, they seem (like so many postwar memoirs by German leaders) to be trying to rehabilitate the image of the regular German soldier. This is somewhat controversial now, because current historical research on WWII shows that rank-and-file German soldiers participated much more actively in atrocities than was previously thought. Both Das Boot and Cross of Iron depict heroic Germans who are sacrificed by corrupt or incompetent commanders or institutions. Both films also mostly ignore political questions or issues of personal responsibility for the conduct of the war. This may seem like a strange topic, but it's just something I find interesting.

When are we gonna get that The Devil in the White City movie already? I'm not interested in the (mind-bogglingly horrible) murder spree, but I am super-fascinated by the World's Fairs of that era, and really want to see one recreated with top-of-the-line modern effects. So really, I just want to buy a dvd of the movie, and make myself a reel of all the Exposition scenes, set to period music.

Me too, for the same reasons you want to see the movie. I'm fascinated by those World's Fairs, particularly the 1933 Chicago World's Fair. The posters for that are among the coolest pieces of art ever.

1. I did not really like Computer Chess. I thought it was fine, and I'm sure I'm pushing back a little because of how many critics named it as one of their favorites of 2013. I did not see that movie.

2. You're not doing anything wrong if you don't like Godzilla. Just means it's not a movie for you. I actually like the original Japanese version a lot, but the American cut (the one will all the Raymond Burr) does nothing for me. If I'm remembering correctly, JB likes that version better. So there's a Godzilla for everyone, except for when there's a Godzilla for no one, which might describe your situation. Giving a movie a chance is all anyone can ask, which you did.

Thank you for your intelligent response - and for making the Internet a nicer, funnier place in general, really.

My only concern with number two is that giant monsters - especially played by men in rubber suits - are kind of my bag. As is thematically-rich sci-fi. I keep feeling like I'm letting this movie down, like I'm going to have to break up with it with one of those "It's not you, it's me..." speeches.

Don't feel bad, The Wick. Like Patrick I'm a fan of the original Japanese version of Godzilla, but it is something of an anomaly in the "men in rubber suits" genre of monster movies. It's been said that Gojira (as it's known in the Land of the Rising Sun) was intended by Ishiro Honda as a serious commentary both on nuclear arms and on Japan's guilt over its role in WWII (you have no idea how happy I am to be able to tie this to my comment above). You may argue that having men put on big rubber costumes and stomp around balsa wood cities is a strange way to comment on serious geopolitical matters, and you would be right. As a result, the tone of the film is rather dour and does not allow for the kind of rousing moments such as the Big G putting the hurt on Mothra or Rodan.

I write to you in the midst of a local film festival taking place all weekend here in my town of Winter Garden, FL. It's called the StarLite Film Festival, and it has been pretty fun so far. The thrust of the festival is micro-budget films made for $200,000 or less. It's pretty neat what some people can do with such a small amount of money, especially when there is a good story to back it up. They've been pretty hit-or-miss so far, but with more hits than misses, I'd say. My favorite that I've seen up to this point is a story called The Paragon Cortex, which is about an agoraphobic man who suffers a horrific fall that unlocks a hidden part of his brain that gives him super powers like telekenesis, mind control, instant healing, etc. but who has to overcome his fears to save the woman he loves. The whole thing sort of had a Kick-Ass vibe to it. Cool stuff

Okay, so I am super excited that you offered the free for all because I missed being able to write about this during the Christmas season.

As I do every year, I watched "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer" the 1964 classic, stop motion animation movie. It has been one of my favorite, go-to, Christmas movies that I have watched every year since I was a child. It brings a nostalgia and a such a great feeling back to me when I watch it.....until this year. Let me explain what I finally realized at 37 years old.

Okay, first things first, Let's talk about the man, Santa. Santa is a fucking douche. When he comes to visit the newborn of his main man Donner, after he sees the red nose he says something like "You better fix that or he'll never be on the team." Then he goes into one of the the worst displays of self proclamation ever - the song - "King of Jingle Jangle". This dawned on me for the first time ever. I was like - Ummmm? King of jingle jangle? No you're not. Nobody fucking calls you that! What?! Are you just giving yourself that title?! Growing up I never fucking once heard a kid say "I can't wait to leave milk and cookies for the King Of Jingle Jangle on Christmas eve. F-This Santa.

Later on, the elves do a song for Santa, who I will now refer to as the KOJJ (hey, he's the one who said it). If you watch, Kojj is sitting in a chair,watching, looking seriously pissed off! Look at his face! When the elves are done he shrugs it off and says "needs work". WHAT A DICK!!!

One last thing about the king of JJ. Towards the end of the film, after he has cancelled Christmas, he is giving some speech about it and Rudy is trying to chime in. KOJJ is obviously pissed that he is interrupting and as he is about to show his true colors, saying something like, "Damnit Rudolph, Shut the F-UP....." he stops himself and says, "Rudolph, you WILL guide my sleigh!" First off, you diss Rudy the whole film and NOW you decide it's cool for him to be on the team AND guide the sleigh because you have no other option?! That's just messed up. AND what does he do? He grabs the island of misfit toys to give back to the kids that got rid of them because they weren't wanted!!! Madness.

Okay,a little bit more.

Fireball. Why the fuck was Rudy messed with and not Fireball?! I didn't see any other reindeer with Corbin Dallas hair. So I guess if you have a fucked up nose but blonde hair, then your okay? Really bothered me.

Lastly, the way Bumble was torture-porned is really messed up. They friggin' pulled his teeth out then jacked him off the cliff. I was a bit distraught this time around. I'm actually a huge Bumble fan now. Used to scare the shit out of me as a kid, now he's my fav. Maybe Clarice is a close second cause at least she is real. I wont even get into the AWFUL parent that Donner is. Putting a fake nose on his new son?! Dude, this movie is F-ed! I guarantee if Doug was watching the trailerz he would be all like, the King of Jingle Jangle is a cold hearted sonofabitch!

In closing, thanks again for letting me get this out. I had been thinking about it for a while but Christmas had passed so figured I would have to wait till next year. I still love watching this and it still gives me the same nostalgic feeling I got as a child, I'm just a little more focused on the shadyness of the so called "King Of Jingle Jangle".

I had a quick random thing, there is a great deleted scene from this weeks Parks and Recreation where the character Andy sings a song about Sudden Death, starring Jean Claude Van Damme. check it out at nbc.com